Part one: 2009 preseason poll

It's been almost a week since there's been some lacrosse-related news, so I thought I would take a crack at a preseason (some would say premature) poll for the 2009 season. I will break up the top 20 into four installments with today's entry looking at teams ranked from Nos. 20 to 16. Wednesday will feature Nos. 15 to 11, Thursday Nos. 10 to 6 and Friday Nos. 5 to 1.

This is just my take on the poll and does not include contributions from my colleague (and lacrosse "Godfather") Mike Preston. It also contains scant information on incoming freshmen and potential transfers. But let's get it started.

Returners: Three of the team's top four scorers in attackmen Cooper MacDonnell, Matt Langan and Collin Finnerty, two starting defensemen in Steve Layne and Steve Dircks, and starting goalkeeper Jake Hagelin.

Reason for pessimism: Losing Koppens, the team's quarterback, could be a severe blow to an offense that averaged 9.3 goals per game this past season.

Reason for optimism: Hagelin was an underrated presence in his freshman year, and long-stick midfielder P.T. Ricci will gobble up more ground balls for what could be a solid defensive unit.

19. Hofstra (10-6; first round)

Losses: Seven seniors including starting midfielder Mike Unterstein and one of the country's top short-stick defensive midfielders Kevin Unterstein.

Returners: Four of the team's top five scorers in midfielder Anthony Muscarella and attackmen Jay Card, Dan Stein and Tom Dooley and starting goalie Danny Orlando.

Reason for pessimism: The graduation of Kevin Unterstein and starting defensemen Connor Hagans and Collin Stabler depletes a defense that surrendered just 8.6 goals a contest.

Reason for optimism: When you return four starters who punched in no fewer than 22 goals each, maybe the Pride can borrow Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala's line: "Your best defense is a good offense."

Reason for pessimism: Can Dan McKeon offset the graduation of Queener, a three-year starter for the Great Danes?

Reason for optimism: Attackman Frank Resetarits left Albany after the 2007 season as the program's first first-team All American. His brother Joe is an Under Armour All American who will make his freshman debut next spring.

17. Georgetown (9-4; no tournament)

Losses: 15 seniors including two of the team's top three scorers in starting attackmen Brendan Cannon and Andrew Baird, defensemen Jerry Lambe and Craig Stevenson and starting goalie Miles Kass.

Reason for pessimism: Backups Christian McCormack and Matt Winter have combined to play 31 minutes in goal in their careers.

Reason for optimism: Coach Dave Urick is usually pretty adept at surprising his critics.

16. Princeton (7-6; no tournament)

Losses: Two starting attackmen in Bob Schneider and Alex Haynie, but the biggest void will be on defense. Top defenseman Dan Cocoziello and goalie Alex Hewit are playing for the Denver Outlaws and the New Jersey Pride, respectively, of the Major Lacrosse League.

Comments

Pretty sure that you are clueless with your predictions when you talk about the Georgetown Hoyas. You talk about their backups when there actual goalie next year will not be either of the names you mention but Jack Davis a former Under Armour All American who redshirted last year. You really are pretty clueless.